


halo

by zimbits (PuppyWillGraham)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Chest Binding, Fluff, M/M, helpful suggestions, non-binary jack (kind of alluded to), trans guy bitty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 20:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6872464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuppyWillGraham/pseuds/zimbits
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Jack?" Eric says softly, becoming nervous again when his partner doesn't say anything at first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	halo

**Author's Note:**

> hey, guys! 
> 
> so i was drawn into this web comic only yesterday and once i was finally caught up, i thought of a headcanon, and well. here we are, expanded into a fic.
> 
> i hope you enjoy. ♡
> 
> [twitter: @provfalconer || tumblr: demijack]

Jack hadn't meant to turn up outside of his boyfriend's room so much earlier than the appointed time he'd said to Bittle beforehand that he would be there, but, well. Here he was, raising a hand to knock a few times, only to be met with a flustered shuffling noise in return. The older hockey player has to resist the urge to press his ear to the door, a brief smile flicking the corners of his lips up at the image of the younger boy inside being surprised by his early arrival.

"Bittle, you in there?" Jack asks, his voice low but still clear enough to be heard through the door. Silence is all that greets him for all of two seconds before the door is being opened up and he's ushered inside.

"Honey, you're early. I wasn't expecting you yet." Eric Bittle, all five foot six and a half inches of him, sounds breathless. Which only makes Zimmermann all the more curious as to what he was doing just now.

"Sorry I didn't text you, I thought it might be a nice..." Jack allows his gaze to roam around the room, eyebrows furrowed when he catches sight of bandages haphazardly half tossed beneath the other boy's bed. _Huh_. "Surprise."

"Well, you certainly surprised me, handsome." Eric flashes Jack a smile that can only be described as absolutely adorable. He might be biased, though.

Moving towards his boyfriend, he envelopes him in a tight hug. He'd missed him; they hadn't seen each other and been able to be alone like this for a good few weeks, the pair of them stressed out with graduation coming up and exams and--

" _Ah_." It's a small noise of discomfort, but one of discomfort nonetheless, and it causes Jack to pull back, although not so far as to take his hands from Eric's shoulders.

"What's wrong?" The expression on his face is calm but serious, and open enough that Eric should feel calm enough to tell him. He hopes, anyway, knowing he can sometimes be a little...too attentive, if such a thing is a problem in a relationship. He just doesn't want to ruin one of the best things that's ever happened to him.

"I'm--" Eric starts, as if contemplating lying and saying he's fine when it's obvious he's not. 

_Is he hurt? Is that what it is?_

Eric is babbling again, like he often does when he gets nervous or antsy. It's just one of his tells, the same way he stress bakes. Jack gives his shoulders a light squeeze to grab his attention, also hoping the action grounds his boyfriend. " _Bittle_."

"Sorry, it's just--"

"Hey, don't apologize. It's okay, I just want to know if you're okay, Bits." He'd recently taken to the nickname in the same way Shitty had in the first place. It had grown on him, and it sounded more affectionate than just using his surname.

Jack places a hand on Eric's cheek and gives his lips a small peck with a smile that calms the younger boy. Something tells him he'll understand.

"It's my chest."

"Your chest? What's wrong with your--"

"Remember when I came out to you and the other guys?" Eric's cheeks heat up just remembering it; it hadn't been too long after he'd come out as gay to Shitty, and he'd been filled with relief when they'd accepted him, just like the other older hockey player had promised they would. They hadn't looked at him any different.

"I do. And you know how proud I am for you having that much courage." Jack smiles softly, their hands meeting and fingers interlocking as they sit on the edge of Eric's bed. It's better than standing in the middle of the room -- this somehow feels more. . .intimate.

"You know about, well, binding. Right?" When Jack nods, an attentive look on his face again to express that he's listening, Eric elaborates. "I've been using these."

Jack's expression becomes ( _if it's even possible_ ) more serious when he sees what Eric is on about. They're bandages held up in his free hand, which isn't really a good idea in the first place for something like binding your chest, but even worse, they're ace bandages. They're dangerous, and even more so with the amount of sports they play and exercising they do.

He doesn't need to be binding himself to know the precautions. He's heard of them before and how careful people should be when using them.

"Jack?" Eric says softly, becoming nervous again when his partner doesn't say anything at first.

"These can be dangerous, Bits. You know that, right?" Jack's trying not to sound condescending, as if he's talking down to him just because he's younger. It's a fine line, but he manages, just about.

Yes, Bittle knows, but it had been worth the risk to feel comfortable in his own skin. He nods. "I know that, but I--"

"Look, I'll help you get one. You can't keep using these." 

_I can't let you get hurt._

"One, what?" Eric blinks a few times in surprise. He'd expected. . . 

But that's the thing, he doesn't know what he'd expected.

"A proper binder." Jack looks so certain of it, that it brings a weak smile to Eric's face.

"They're expensive, and I can't exactly ask around for money for one when I'm not out to everyone."

"Then we'll raise the money together. I want to help."

"Oh." Eric finds himself smiling a little stronger, his nerves calming now that the scary part of coming clean ( _so to speak_ ) is out of the way. Jack was always so understanding with everything else, it's a relief to know that he's the same with this, too. "Okay, what do you suggest?"

"You bake." Jack grins a little, as if that's all the answer Eric needs.

"Yeah, of course I bake. I love to--" Eric's eyes widen as realization then dawns on him. " _Oh!_ "

"Yeah?" Jack leans forward to press a kiss to Eric's forehead, humming softly as he leans back to catch and meet his boyfriend's gaze that's lit up in what can only be described as excitement. "Do you see what I'm getting at now, how you can raise money with your baking?"

"Yeah!" Eric can feel his cheeks heating up at the kiss to his forehead, raising a hand to catch Jack's wrist as fingers brush across his warm skin, a hand cupping one of them as lips ghost his own when he speaks. "A bake sale of some kind."

"Exactly, Bits." Jack murmurs, pressing a gentle kiss to Eric's lips before speaking again, both dangerously close to getting lost in the others' gaze. It's almost stifling, what they feel for each other, like nothing either has felt for another ever before. "I'll help you sort it out. I want to."

"Thank you, honey."

"Hey, it's what partners are for, right?"

Really, just seeing Eric smile like that, because of him, is what makes everything worth it.


End file.
